Steven Kull

Steven Kull is a Senior Research Associate and director of the Program for Public Consultation at the School of Public Policy. A political psychologist, for over two decades he has conducted in-depth studies of public opinion on public policy issues. He has worked extensively with U.S. Congressional staffers and Executive Branch officials to develop surveys that help policymakers gain greater insight into the public’s values and beliefs. He has developed a new survey method, called ‘policymaking simulations,’ that seek to simulate the experience policymakers go through. He leads an effort establishing representative standing panels, called ‘Citizen Cabinets’, in numerous states that regularly go through policymaking simulations, and thus effectively advise their representatives in Congress on the decisions they are making.

In addition to his work in the United States, he has extensive experience conducting surveys around the world. He has played a central role in the BBC World Service Poll of global opinion and directs WorldPublicOpinion.org, a cooperative research program that includes research centers in over 20 countries worldwide. He has done extensive work in the Muslim world conducting focus groups and surveys, resulting in his most recent book, Feeling Betrayed, The Roots of Muslim Anger at America (Brookings).

He co-authored with I.M. Destler, Misreading the Public: The Myth of a New Isolationism (Brookings) and authored two other books. His articles have appeared in Political Science Quarterly, Foreign Policy, Public Opinion Quarterly, Harpers, The Washington Post, and other publications. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the World Association for Public Opinion Research.